Lack Of Facilities and Programs for Juvenile 601 Offenders in Ventura County

Ventura County has not been incarcerating §601 contempt cases and Juve- nile Judges have not been committing §601 contemnors for incarceration because Ventura County could not provide facilities to separate §601s from §602s.

In 1976 the juvenile law changed, requiring separation of §601 offenders from §602 offenders. As a result, the juvenile court stopped incarceration of §601 cases due to lack of space. The Probation Agency does provide services to these youth and families at the Youth Services level but does not have formal programs or staff allocated for this group as they do with delinquent offenders.

The Probation Agency Director has indicated that when the new Juvenile Justice Center is completed, it will be possible to meet the legal require- ments to incarcerate §601 contempt offenders for short periods of time.

The number of §601 youth with mental health problems is a major factor. The Probation Agency Director stated that his department was recently pro- vided with funding from the Board of Supervisors to increase mental health services. The agency hired a psychologist and has a contract with a psy- chiatrist to assess cases, but cooperation and participation with the Ventura County Behavioral Health Department is required.

The Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council (JJCC) has responsibility for set- ting juvenile policy and standards throughout Ventura County. The presid- ing Juvenile Judge and the Probation Agency Director are chairs of this committee. The JJCC includes the District Attorney, Sheriff, Public Defender, Human Services Agency Director, the Director of Behavioral Health Department, a representative from City Impact, Chief Executive Offi cer, a representative from the Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence, two members of the Board of Supervisors, Chief of the Oxnard Police Department, a member of the Public Health Services, a representative of the ACTION organization, citizen representative of the Juvenile Justice/ Delinquency Prevention Commission and the Ventura County Superinten- dent of Schools.

The Human Services Agency provides Youth Services that coordinate educational and job search opportunities for young people. These feature individualized programs for participants working with police, probation and the schools. This agency has many programs for at-risk youth in the community, some voluntary and some mandated as terms of probation.

The Self-Help Legal Access Center established a Teen Court as a compo- nent of the Juvenile Justice System. The purpose of Teen Court is to direct minors who have not yet entered the Juvenile Justice System away from formal court while holding them accountable for their actions before a jury of their peers. Teen Court suffered last year because it was not receiving referrals from the Probation Agency.

A deputy district attorney, involved in truancy problems and handling at- risk minors, has related the seriousness of not having contempt §601 beds available and the necessity for them in the new Juvenile Justice Complex when it will be possible to separate §601 from §602 cases.

Following is a partial list of programs for at-risk youth with truancy prob- lems in Ventura County: 1. The School Attendance Review Board (SARB), along with the District Attorney’s Offi ce and Probation Agency, is a community and countywide program to address severe student attendance problems. 2. The Oxnard Police Department’s award winning Student Truancy Offender Program (STOP) is a program designed to keep kids in school, promote education and reduce the opportunity for them to become victimized or engaged in criminal acts. Juveniles are processed there and their parents are notifi ed, counseling services may be used, and the SARB and District Attorney’s offi ce for truancy mediation may be uti- lized. 3. The Truancy Habits Reduced Increases Vital Education (THRIVE) pro- gram works with SARB and conducts monthly mediations, participates in teaching truancy classes, coordinates with CalWORKs, formerly known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children, incorporates job placement and vocational training services into SARBs.

Following is a list of what other counties in California are doing to try and prevent §601 offenders from becoming §602 offenders: 1. San Diego County has §601 space in their Juvenile Hall and uses the contempt proceedings for weekend custody. They also have paralegals monitoring student school attendance. They think it is important to at least have a credible threat of incarceration to get compliance. Final Report . Santa Barbara County’s District Attorney’s offi ce and Juvenile Probation are concerned about §601 wards that are not in compliance with court orders. Their Juvenile Court has the authority to secure non-school hours confi nement of a minor previously made a ward of the court under §601 if they are later found in contempt of court. These minors are detained at Juvenile Hall and do not have contact with §602 wards. 3. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department does not incarcerate §601 contempt cases, but their VIDA program deals with at-risk youth. This program is a structured sixteen-week non-custody youth intervention program, which is specifi cally designed to assist at-risk youth between 11 and 17 ½ years of age and their families. VIDA, overseen by law enforcement personnel, covers community service, physical train- ing, behavior modifi cation, career guidance, counseling the youth and parent(s), and drug and alcohol testing. The Grand Jury requested and received a power-point presentation about the program and visited the training area in Malibu Hills to observe that local “boot camp” portion and lecture. Grand Jury members also attended the ceremony in East Los Angeles for VIDA graduates from all of Los Angeles County. Conclusions C-1. It is imperative that the Juvenile Justice System be able to incarcerate Ventura County §601 contempt cases in the new Juvenile Justice Complex scheduled to open in 2003. (F-1) C-2. The Probation Agency needs more personnel assigned to adapt formal programs and staff to §601 juveniles. (F-2) C-3. In order to focus on the mental health aspect for at-risk youth, the Proba- tion Agency, Human Services Agency and Behavioral Health Department must coordinate and cooperate in their efforts. (F-4) C-4. The County needs to coordinate and utilize its resources cooperatively among all County agencies. The JJCC is an organization that coordinates and utilizes the resources of all agencies in the County. They are excel- lent in establishing effective programs for at-risk juveniles because of the variety and position of individuals belonging to the organization and their theme of juvenile justice. (F-5) C-5. Ventura County has at-risk youth programs in different communities in the County but there are none such as VIDA for a countywide effort. It is important that a solution for at-risk youth for the whole county be devel- oped. A “boot camp” and counseling program like VIDA is an outstanding way to accomplish this solution. (F-10, #3) C-6. The Teen Court is an underutilized, effective early intervention program. (F-7) Recommendations